All Summer In A D ay

(1920--2012)
Ray Bradburyy~ ::= --- --- --- --- -... _

1. INTRODUCTION
-
. b Ray Brad bury in 1959 for The
. .
l1 01·t story writte n yfutur istic view f 1·c
Day' is a s . . o 11e on Venus.
'All Summ e r in a ·
.
. .
sczence Fzctwn. It is a
this work depic ts a thnv1 ng, though
Magazin e of Fanta sy and · · ·
· · h bitable by huma,,ns, On Brad bury' s Venu s, 1t rains v10lently
Thou gh Venu s 1s unm a
nd women. ak throu gh only for two hour s between
miserable life of "rock et men a s
t· and the sun bre . -' t y abou t a child name d Margot '
fo r seven years at a ime,
All S mer in a Day IS a ian as had seen the sun, as she had
these downpours . um . he
who is bullie d by her classm ates JUSt becau se s
exper ience d the warm th of the sun. Margot
h h a d no t .
come from the Earth but t ey
.1s locked m · s th e only two* hours of suns hine that occur s every
• · a closet an d mISse
seven years on Venus .
The Auth or
r. He was born in
Ray Bradb ury was a 20th ·centu ry Amer ican scien ce fictio n write
town of Waukegan,
1920 in USA. His close-knit family prima rily lived in the smal l
d every wher e for
Illinois , altho ugh they moved aroun d a lot as his fathe r looke
stori es as a child.
work durin g the Great Depression. Ray Brad bury starte d writi ng
is.'
Waukegan features in many of his storie s as 'Gree n Town , Illino
time to go to
Ray Bradb ury attend ed Los Angeles High Schoo l, but when it was
He chose instead
college, he opted not to go. He said he could not affor d colleg e.
he could . He loved
to educa te himself by going to librar y and readi ng every thing
th
all e arts like magic , acting, readi ng comic book s, listen
ing to radio , but what
he loved the most was writing.
451. The novel details
His Works: ~ay Bradb ury's most famo us novel is Fahre nheit ..
.
a future society where firem en bu b 0 k s inste
t o ra
l? h .
renhezt 451 Ray Bradb u
rn ° ad of putti ng out fires. In add1tton
' ry wrote eleve n other nove ls Some of them are
. t
short story collections he converted mo .
novel s.
* 0 . .
nee m seven years sun is said t
or two and for uniformity
sake we refer to it as two hours . o appea r on Venus for an hour
~

storyline
1A group of children The sun comes out A girl named Margot,
~Jive 011 Planet Venus
-.-
~
once every seven .. . has come from the
~

;\"~th their families. years fot two hours Earth and has seen
I
on Venus. the sun earlier.
I ,. ,, ..
' ·- ·- ... ~
_
-
I
i
She is bullied by her · The sun comes O\lt After the sun sets
classmates as she is . and all the children it starts raining again.
different from them ,
:
. ,
~

.. · bask
·,

·'irt ·.t he warm· ..

~

The children feel guilty

. . . ,

and she is locked up I

:sunshine . .
I and let Margot out.
in a closet. ···-··

Story in Detail
The story is set on the Planet Venus, where it rains _c onstantly, except for tw(
hours after every seven years, when the sun comes out.
A group of schoolchildren were crowding around a window in their classroon
as they were waiting for the heavy rain to slacken. The children were nine year
old, meaning that they would've been only two the last time the rain stopped
and the sun came out seven years ago. Margot, a frail little girl had come fron
the Earth to Venus five years ago. She remembered what sun was like, from h e
experience of the sun on the Earth. In preparation for the coming sunshine, th
class had spent the previous day studying the sun and writing about it. However
the children accused Margot of not having written her poem comparing the su 1
to a flower on her own. They also claimed that she could not remember the suJ
and ~reated the quiet, reserved little girl cruelly.
 ., par en ts wer e plan nin g to take her
M8 rgot s hate her eve n more anct
)rs t hn 1 1 srna tes .
F'u1 th cr. 1hert' W<'r<' n~1,11< l . tn Hdc her c,as '
d a terr ible _tnck on Margot. 1'hea.s
" tl
hnd<- to l~tH 1 · Thi ~ npp111" <wind
nt y t h(W pl ctye . predict10ns of whe n the
1hn· wr r<' ,~•i:1it in,r hy_1l1t_ , ,vc1-
nW , · . thei r .
c wron g i~, Her anx iety only in:r
. suny
'1,l(i hrr th nt tlw ~c1<'n11s1; Mnrgot to pHni eas ed as the
I
11 fH·cc c1 cl. cl her in. Plea sed with thernselvec.
•
d toc<e .
,~ P t ~1)1. , e111. wh1t' h<'r
. \ll :i
t .
< , 10 ~c t an
1o n e_ • - - carn e in
. to gath er t h em 1or
-'
the e \)
ch1 ld rrn fo n-1 hl)' 1nnk thei r t·e1-1c he1 vent 1
, '

" ··,t n rncd ns

the c!Rs~ m~t ~~- t t . .
, hcY W (' rt" wnt t mg fl)t . d with sile nce . A door ·
' ears were fille . .
· . . . 1 )c<l. the ch ildre n s
slide
111 . The y wer e obh v10us to t_he teacher's
A'2- the m sh)l- l· ·nto
ci tl , n1shcd OllL1 l · the sun shine. thro ugh the rapi dly gro~n.;
oprn . Rn .1C:'i . l . d only two hou. rs a~ they ran vving
k'
,,·an1ing that they 1a . . their s in. The chil dre n lost trac
.
k of ti:rn
e
foliRge . .and t"njoyed the s~n ~u111111g sunlight,
and befo re they kne w it, sporadic
in lhei r playing and baslung 111 _theThis bro
ugh t
tear s in the eye s of some of the
rain drops had begu n to fall agam. . t the
sch ool as the last ray s of sunlight
children and they began sadlY 1·eturnmg 0
were replaced by rain clouds. . t t d
Once they were back msr • ·d the storms s are aga in in full force. Suddenly
'ld
e, th had lock ed Mar got in a closet before'
l
one of the c 11 ren re mem bered that ey .
h t' oup was so1emn an d kep t the ir face s dow nturned as
they went out. T e en ire grh h d locked up Mar
they returned to the plac e t ey a got. And she did not even speak
a V:,ord, as they slowly let her out of
the closet.
-or • •• ...."'"1':''":'':::7~.. . :11-.'··; · ,-)i/''. . . ,'-t(
> . ' .\\·..,~2:~.<· ~ ·-·:· · ·<t~:._~ . •,,y

. '.•; ··::J.'y:f.;_. ;·

'All Summer in a Day' is an appropriate title

for the · stor y bec aus e the entire story
revolves around a group of children, who hav e bee
n wai ting for the last seven
years for the sun to appear so that they could get
reli ef from the con tinu ous rain
and bask in the sunshine. The summer time is
the Planet Venus. only two hou rs in sev en years on
·
In the story, a group of children, all nine -yea rs
old, hav e bee n living in a dark,
water-logged world o~ constant rain, without seei
ng the sun shin e. The last time the
sunld appeared on thei r plan et was
0
and therefore they did not sevebn yea rs ago ' whe n they wer e only two years
day. Their only kn owe1 dge remem er any thin g abo ut the sun and the
sunny
of the sun wa h t
teacher a day before th d' s w a t h ey disc uss ed with thei·r class
Margot' who had fe pre icted app eara nce
' come rom the Ear th a d h d of the sun . The y had hea rd from
In fact, they were jealous of M n a firs t-ha nd exp erie nce of the su n·
her, ostracised and finally 1 l adrgot b~cause she
. <:e her in
had see n the sun . They bullied
it was a new experience for oc th
1
a c oset. Wh en the sun finally appeare d'
it started raining again It em. ~o they rejoiced and enjo yed its war mth
. was as if they h d before
IJiH,;·,; . .. .: . d '
a exp erie nce d 'all sum mer in a ay ·
=- - - ·• , JW· Mii❖ MIH&~-.J
. ,. •&1·FiilMYRMiiiN-h!i1Mw I-
 4! CHARACTERISATION

1fMgot
· .
5
the main character of the s tory. She had come to t he Planet Venus
1Al°o·()t 1 '
1
' !:'five years ago, from Earth. She was totally a misfH on Venu s . She could not
11st
rself to the con d'1hons
· on V enus, wh ere 1·t would ram
. continuously for
idapt 11e .
rears, without the appearance of the sun. The continuous rain made its first
~even)
· t 011 her physical appearance. It seemed as if the rains had washed out the
i!11Pac
lour from her face , the blue colour of her eyes and the golden colour of her
red cO
.. She looked like a faded,
)19.11. .
whitened photograph from an old album. She looked
pale and sick like a ghost. The rains affected her mentally as well. They gave her
a lonely feeling. She never _mingled with other children. She neither played games
,\~th them nor sang songs of happiness.

She was ·not only weak and frail in her outer appearance but also in her
actions. She never answered questions from other children. Even if they tried to
involve her in the game of chasing by tagging her, she never followed them. When
William, along with other classmates, tried to lock her up, she just cried.

She was treated indifferently by her classmates because she never reacted as
they thought she would react. It seemed that because of her belonging to the
earth, she was smarter than her classmates. Though she had seen the sun five
years ago, she not only defined it correctly like a sunflower or a penny, and a fire
but could write a poem on it. That is why they were envious of her and used to
bully her and singled her out.

''And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little
consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her
thinness, and her possible future ."

Margot had fond memories of the sun. It seemed that she was completely
devastated by the relentless rains, so much so that she dreaded taking a shower.
She 1onged to go back and it seemed that she was waiting in silence for her
Parents to take her back to Earth.
 Margot's Classmates 11 nine years old' who were born
h'ldren a . on
. ~ group of c 1 ' ·h y have been likened t b
Margot's classmates. HJ c a . . of the story, t e . .o Olh
At th e bcgtnl11 11 g sweet and innocent.
the planet \1cnus. were not a 11
• · • that they ·
roses and weeds. hmtin g . many roses, so many weeds,
h other lilce so
''Th e children pressed to eac .

intennixed ... '' . the way they ran, tumbled, play d

d innocence m e
They had the sweetness an . Their child-like innocence and happines,
f 1'fi d happiness. s
games and sang songs o 1 e an th sun emerged. They laughed, played
. h ·ushed out as e
is well-depicted when t ey 1 d th fleeting moments of sunshine. The
and absorbe e Y
games, ran among the trees d every moment of the warmth f
looked at the sun with amazement and savoure o
the sunshine.
· th ·ungle mattress, and heard it
"The children lay out laughing, on e 1
sigh and squeak. The; ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they
pushed each other, they played hide-and-seek and tag~ but mo:t of all
they squinted at the sun until the tears ran down their faces.

The children have been described as jealous and cruel because they were unable
to accept Margot. This is because of their tendency of being intolerant towards
anybody who is different from them. That is why they hated Margot. Since Margot
did not have the history that the other children had, they considered her different
from themselves. They were born on Venus, whereas Margot has recently shifted to
Venus. Further, she had the knowledge of Earth, a place where sunshines regularly,
whereas these children did not remember ever seeing the sun. They could not
accept the fact that Margot had the experience of living under the sun. So they
felt a sense of jealousy towards her. That is why, some of them confronted her,
especially William who treated her savagely. They bullied her and challenged her
views about the sun. Finally' they forcibly locked M · a c1ose t .
argo t 1n
~t the end of the story, when they had enjoyed the sun, they felt guilty of
havrng locked Margot in a closet It b
· was ecause of their lack of knowledge about
the sun that they could not underst d M
d h an argot's feelings, her refusal to join thern
an ow enraptured she was by the .
outside basking in th h. sun. It was not until they had spent tune
, e -suns me that th h
Margot sacrificed when h ' ey were able to comprehend how muc
s e moved from th E h d
of their act and let Margot t f e art to Venus. They felt ashame
ou o the closet.

m
·11t1au5•kJl'1·}iil1B·hJl1i·w•
 5. THEMES
~ • -----·· ·.~" -· . "' -~7• ,.;;..........;;:;-;--~;-:-::--.:., ,.:;;.-:

~ Y and Bullying: The them e of _i eHlot1sy 1t11tl hu\lyi11g is "" pln m I 111 11.,,
1· e . tllrouoJ'l the behaviour of the studct1ts livi.u g nn l'lnnr' l Vt1 n1 1~L C liildrfi 1t
-torY 0

:s - -all\r tend to becon1e 111ean and inset1sll'ivf' whe n 1-l-, c y H t' f" n ,nfr 011 1i·• t1
,Yf'11el - .
0
. ~omeone different fro111 then1selves. It c nt.tses · jealous ·y i11 tl 1rrn Hnrl l l w v
"-it 1l ~
resort to bullying to give vent to their feelings .
In the sto1y, the children living on the Planet Venus singlC'd out M nq~,d-
because they found her different fron1 then1 in 111any ways . Fi n :.1t , s hf' h . .1d
come from Earth, ·whereas they have been born and broughl· up o n t-_h r
nlanet Venus. Second, she was pale and shy and did not tnlx w Hh H1Prn .
i

She neither played games nor sang songs of happiness with the m.. Fina I ly.
they felt hostility towards Margot for her experience on Earth vvith the :-\ Un
that they longed for and could not reme111ber ever seeing it.

Margot had known what the sun looked like fron1 her expedence on Ear th .
But the children living on the planet Venus, who get to see the sun for twn
hours once every seven years, could not relate to Margot's e xperie n ce . T hr'y
thought that Margot was telling lies and even when she r ead a poem. abcn I l
the sun, they accused her of not having written the poen1 l1e rsdf. One of h e-:·
boys said: 'Aw, you didn't iurite that!'

The author has shown the feeling of jealousy, the students hud for MnrgPt.
through the character of William. He hated Margot b ecause he thought ~:he
was weired and different from then1. He bullied her throltgho ut the 8tor_y . I le
would push her and run away. At tilnes, he would speak rude ly t:o J tcr o n
seeing her standing near the window, waiting for the ~Htt l to e n1ergc .
"Get away!" The boy gave her another push. vVhat)re you. ruuitino JtJri )"
William also roped in other children for tensing nnd bullying Mnrgnt.. ( )t I l'hf'
day when Margot was waiting for the sun to en1er ge Williun1 t·uld thnl· wl ti ll
1

Margot said about the sun was a joke.

"Nothing!" he cried "It wa.s a.ll a. joke , iua.sn't it;? I-fe t:utnec.l to the 0U1cr
children. "Nothing's happening toclay. Is it'? )'
 nd Jn u g h <' cl a t Ma rgo t. w-I11 i a lr1
t 11 Wti I ' n 11 , n .
't'd "'' T IH' Y lwc a m <' p art nf'rs i n r r i rn e w1th
" t' tl't' t ch tldr <'l1 nnH
. 1he c to s c 1
T l1' , •
I , c·Jo sC' f n 11cl th u s .prc vf' nt f' ci hrr rrn-,1
f
" i tlwm tl', lc'H I< l1<' 1 ,n .
M g o 1 111 1 H ·
l' t"m ,·1m <'l Play .,
·1 AJJp C' s 1ha t it wa s JU S t a pra n k
t:1 r
\\ ilhn m nnd f<)t ( ,hh lnl l< cd n1 . . . ' f'(J
11 ow cvr 1. ' ,-
srrm ~ nnd tcl'h ng the sun
eve r bc l1 cve d in Ma rgo t s k nowJ PcJ~r,
f Jousv Tiley n
h, thl chtl drc n . m1 t
O J<'ll · . s un t he ms e lves , they did not k nr1~1
.,. . x ,rri cn r 111g t 1, c
. t wou ld be. Bu t a ft e r exp erie ncing JP
t}-
ab(, ut t he sun Hrfn tl r f 1 .
hou rs of su n1ig , ngh t. So wh en the su n
. d ti t Ma rgo t wa s
h0\\ spf' ctRI the t w o ,a
1 , rea ltse
the s un . t l e} h d don e to Ma rgo t · Th ey s trJCJrj
wan nth of fi 1 ·1ty of wha t they a
hnall~ eme rged . e} th e t gut t and let Ma rgo t out.
frozen and wal ked slowly toward s the clo se
2 . Spa ce Tra vel: The story refers sub
tly to the the me of spa ce travel. Ray
ked
. t mor e tha n a dec ade bef ore the firs t ma n Wal
Bra dbu rv wrote t h 1s s ory
spa ce, an ima gin atio n of how
on the ~oo n . So the story is a fan tasy abo ut
a of inc ess ant rai n on a Plan et
life would be on a Planet like Venus. The ide
sev en yea rs is a fan tasy , whi ch is not pos sib le on Ea rth and may not
for
r, the aut hor has hin ted that
be the case with Planet Venus eith er. How eve
tha t it mig ht be an expens ive
Margot mig ht go bac k to Ear th, poi ntin g out
itio n but not an imp oss ible one . Ray Bra dbu ry see ms to be way ahead
propos
tim e in sug ges ting trav elli ng to a pla net like Ve nus and com ing back.
of his
~ 1e sto1y follows th e pattern o r third person narration. T he long
ration• .
1, fwtlr . passages are interspersed wit h dialogues.
-rat1ve
J1111 . th
thor has given a dull ton e to Ma rgot's c h aracter, which m akes e
I e au
fl . catch up v,rit h h er e111o tions. They feel th e s ame kind of loneliness,
rea.det s
. M.r despair and 111elancholy that Margot felt in the s t ory .
M1,~ e"J,
·adbury has breathed life into the event, when rain stopped and the
RaY Bl
sun emerged:
"It ivas as if, in the midst of a film concerning an avalanche, a tornado,
a humcane, a volcanic eruption, something had, firs:, gone wrong with
the sound appa1·atus, thus muffling and finally cutting off all noise, all
of the blasts and repercussions and thunders ... "

Then, there is a beautiful description of the children laughing, playing and

absorbing the fleeting moments of sunshine, which they had seen for the
first time.

"They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each
other, they played hide-and-seek and tag, but most of all they squinted
at the sun until the tears ran down their faces ..._"
2, Chronology: The entire action in the story takes place on a single day, the
day which the characters in the story have been waiting for the last seven
years to take place. The events happen at two places, at the poor and dark
underground schoolroom, where the children study and outside the school,
inthe forests, where the children bask in the sunshine for two hours, after
the ·
rain stopped and the sun emerged. Thus, the unity of time, place and
action has been maintained.
l, h:n
b agery: The author has used a number of images to describe the differences
etween th . .
t e planets Earth and Venus. It has been ra1n1ng on planet Venus
or thous d
fo an s of years and it is after every seven years that the sun emerges
rap .
enoct of two hours.

"'2:n1.
 th0 usan d s upon thous a.nd;:;
..Ir had hccn rain ing Jbr seve n year s;
days comp o unde d and fillc>d from on e e n d lo th e other
with rain , Wit:
0

•• r.;·
nu -s h o'Jr wa te r, wit h the swee t c rySla .l fall of s h.o-uJer.
rh c dnm1 a n d ~,
n nd rhc cc?ncu ssion or 'J
s torm s s o h eavy they were lLdal Wauec:;· corn.e
isln nds . A thou s and fores ts had been crus h ed unde
r lh.e rain
01 ·c r t he
nnd gro i u n up a thou sand times lo b e crush ed
agai n. And this Wo_~
rr "
r he zuay l~f e w a s fo re ver on the plan. et venu s ...
the fores ts at V
The auth or has given a vivid desc riptio n. of the land and em..1 -
ht. ',
w ith relen tless rain and d evoid of s unhg
cove red Venu
"Th ey stopp ed runn ing and stood in the grea t jung le that is, trlf.J.l
ltuou sly, even as you watc hed it It
g re u., and neve r stoppe d grow ing, tumu · wa ~
, wave ring, fl.owe rt~
a nest of octop i, clust ering up great arms ofjl.esh like weed
in this bn.ef sprin g. »

The story abou nds in colou r imag ery:

• reme mber ing gold or a yello w crayo n.

red from her
• the rain had wash ed out the blue from her eyes and the
mou th and the yello w from her hair.
imag ery:
Besi des , there are a num ber of word s depic ting audi tory

• drum and gush of wate r

• tattin g drum
• all of the blast s and repe rcuss ions and thun ders

• A boom of thun der start led them

Iron y: Ther e is situa tiona l irony in the story , i.e.,

a cont rast betw een what
4. · · t of
to occu r and what actua lly occu rs. Marg ot, the prota gorns
is exp ected
comi ng that day but
the story told her class mate s that the sun woul d be th
her class thoug ht ar
nobo dy belie ved her state men t. All the child ren in
hing like the sun and
s he was lying beca use they had neve r expe rienc ed anyt
and had seen the sun,
suns hine . Marg ot , who had come to Ve nus from Eart h as locked
. . d sun to emer ge . How ever, Marg ot w d
was waiti ng espe ratel y for the erien ce
.
her for havin g exp the
in a close t by her class mate s, beca use they hate d
en, happ ened as
the sun . But what the c hildr en least expe cted to happ
rain stopp ed and the sun emer ged .
t.2£-U,P•O
 All the chi ldr en we nt ou t, lau gh ed,
pla yed an d enj oye d the sun , its
and sun shi ne. In th eir fre nzy , wa rm th
the y for got to let Ma rgo t ou t of
fhUS, it is an iro ny th at Ma rgo t the clo set .
mi sse d ou t tha t spe cia l mo me nt
she had bee n des per ate ly wa itin g for wh ich
for m.a ny yea rs an d has to wa it for
seven yea rs to hav e tha t bea uti ful an oth er
exp eri enc e of bas kin g in the su n
.
s. Rh eto ric al De vic es: Th e lan gu
age in the sto ry is ric h an d ab
rhetorical dev ice s: ou nd s in

Metaphors: Ra y Br ad bu ry ha s use
d a var iet y of me tap ho rs to dep ict
of life on Ve nu s, an ide a tha t is an im age
for eig n to all of us, thr ou gh his
The bri ef, bri llia nt an d joy ful ris lan gu age .
ing of the su n ha s be en des cri bed
in her poe m as - by Ma rgo t

~ "... sun is a flo we r, tha t blo om s for

jus t one hour."
Margot's ap pe ara nc e an d voi ce
ha s be en des cri bed , aft er ye ars
rain and dev oid of sun lig ht as - of rel ent les s

~ "Sh e wa s an old ph oto gra ph du

ste d fro m an alb um ... "
~ "... if she spo ke at all he r voi ce
wo uld be a gho st."
The rai n ha s be en de scr ibe d as
-
~ "... the en dle ss sh ak ing do wn of
cle ar be ad nec kla ces up on the
roo f. .. "
Simile: Th ere are a nu mb er of
sim ile s in the sto ry, lik e:
i "They tur ne d on the ms elv es lik e
a fev eri sh wh eel , all tum bli ng spo
kes ."
i "... fee lin g the su n on the ir ch eek
s lik e a wa rm iro n ... "
i ''Th en wil dly , lik e an im als esc ap
ed fro m the ir cav es, the y ran an
d ran

Hyperbole: It is a fig ure of spe ech

us ed -fb ov ere mp has ise a po int
, to giv e
the rea der a "la rge r tha n life " pic tur
e. Th e exa mp les of hy per bo le in
are: the sto ry

a coi n lar ge en ou gh to bu y the

wo rld wi th ·"
"
·· · he ard the gig an tic so un d of rai ·n fal lin g in ton s an d av ala
nc he s,
eve ryw her e an d for eve r."

tab,,!,Li
 A,PPRECIATION
8. CJUTIC~L
. fi is th e term that is used for scie
i fl storY : s ci-
All Summ er in a Day as a Sc - . d f' ture scien tific or, techn . nee
ologi cal advances
·
fiction which is based on imllg111e u
. . . el and life on oth er p 1anets . There ar '
)r tt 111 e t1 av . d .
frequ ently portray~ng space c .• Sci-fi, real and fanta stic etails groundede
certain kev ekme n ts of sc
, -ience fi ction . 111
. . space
. ften set in futur e , in
· s · ce fiction 1s O , or in sorn
in scienc e are comb ined . cien e
altoge ther different v.rorld or . plane t. . futur e on th e p 1anet Venu
D . story set 1n s
ra db
· ury 's All
· Swnm er m a "ay tisup civili sation .
8 and hve out their . lives." It·
The chara cters are on Venu s to n se Venu s five years ago from Earth , rest others
is on lv
· Margo t wh o allh a dthcome
•. - os The story does not tell us the reaso n for their
h ad been on Venu s 1ive •
• • • f E ·th toenVenu .
s despi te the inces sant rrun. Marg ot has turned
1mm1grat10 n rom ai .
pale and colourless and sunli ght is vital to her but owm g to . . , .
Wilham s Jealou sy
she misses the sun.
The partic ular story falls into the genre of scien ce fictio n beca
use it is set in
a differ ent plane t, there is a const ant refere nce to scien tists and
their predictions
regarding sun; the city set in Venu s is unde rgrou nd and what
is inter estin g and
fictional in this story is that Venu s here is descr ibed comp letely
oppo site of the
real Venu s which is very hot. It is impo ssible for hum ans
to live on the real
Venu s . Bradb ury's science fiction storie s are know n "to turn
airle ss world s into
vividly realized lands capes . "

,.. ... '}'~'!"5'.~,r·. ~-} -~/,

9. · N:o'fr:f

peering: looking narrowly or curio usly. tattin g drum is used by Brad bury to
concu ssion : a stunn ing ' dam agmg
. or descr ibe the way the rain sound s.
shatte ring effect from a hard bl~w .·
shove : a stron g, force ful push .
roe k et men and wome n.re£e
men and women ·
h · rence
. to the patte rning : the desig ns or patte rns that
w o immi grate d to
Venus from Earth in k appe ar on some thing .
roe ets.
trembling: shivering. savag ely: rudel y or unma nnerl y.
tatting: the act or proce ss of m k' surge d abou t her: move d very quicklY
a kind of knotted lac f a mg and sudd enly arou nd her.
linen threa d with e o
a shuttcotto n or
le . Here ple~d ing: the act of askin g for some thing
I in a serio us and emot ional way.

_i.lJ•imi=M-Ui•Hi 1.1
·- • mw ii\liNliii-liil1ii•Mi1'-Mi mt
 ,ned: bange d the door in a forcef u l
slam
at m a d e a loud noise.
,ra.Y th
.med cries: uncle ar or muted cries.
r71U;.1 ,
nche: a large amou nt of snow and
(11'(1 la
ice or of dirt and rocks that slides
sudde nly down the side o f a
mount ain.
tom.ado : a violen t a nd d e s t ructiv e storm
in which powe rful wind s move
around a centra l point.
hurricane: an extrem ely large, destru ctive
storm ·w ith strong winds that occur
especially in the weste rn part of the
Atlanti c Ocean .
tremor: a quiver ing or vibrat ory motio n.
flami ng bronze: referr ing to the colou r
of the sun .
tumultu ous : mark ed by viole nt or
overwhelming turbu lence or uphea val.
wave ring: movin g back and forth in an
uns teady way.
s queak : to m a ke a short, high-p itched
noise .
re s ilient: ab le to becom e stron g or ,
health y again after somet hing bad
happe n s.
squint ed at the sun: the childr en looked at
the sun with their eyes partly closed .
savore d: enjoye d.
wailed : made a loud , long cry of s a dness
or pain.
gigant ic sound : enorm ous s ound .
closet: a usual ly small room tha t is used
for storin g thing s (such as clothi ng,
towels , or dishe s .)
solem n: sad and seriou s .
whisp ered: spoke softly or quietl y.